Changing
by AllisonWonderland203
Summary: Before the Emerald City, Elphaba receives an unexpected visitor...


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. The only profit I hope to make is a good review.**

When a loud knock sounded on the doorframe, Elphaba looked up. Surprised and slightly annoyed upon seeing the unsolicited guest loitering in the entrance to her room, she rolled her eyes and went back to folding the blouse in her hands.

"If you're looking for Galinda, she's not here. She and her friends had some frilly little…"

"I'm… I'm not here for Galinda," he interrupted, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Elphaba stopped her packing and turned to look at him. "You're not?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why else would you be here?"

"To see you, actually," he said, a little hesitantly, then added, "Is that allowed?"

She gave a half shrug. "I suppose. Though why you would want to see me, I have no idea."

"I came to wish you luck. I hear you're off to the City."

Elphaba blinked. She hadn't told anyone yet, other Galinda and Nessarose. They'd both been happy for her and told her so, but she'd asked them not to say anything to anyone else. Besides, who else would care? It wasn't like she had a lot of friends on campus and she didn't need another commotion attached to her name. Heaven knows she had enough already.

"So am I to assume that Galinda told you?" she bit out, "Or does the whole campus know?"

"Galinda may have mentioned it, but you've confirmed it." He nodded towards the suitcase and clothing spread over her bed. "The packing's a dead giveaway."

"Ah. Of course…" Elphaba tucked her hair behind her ear and she shifted her eyes around the room, suddenly uncomfortable to have all of his attention directed at her. Why was he still here? And why did she care so much about whether or not he _was _here? After what had happened between them with that Lion cub at the edge of the forest, she was alternately furious and flustered in his presence… and she hated to admit it, even to herself.

"Are you nervous?"

Her head shot up.

"About going to the City, I mean."

"Oh," she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Not really. I mean, I've wanted this for so long – to meet the Wizard, to speak out for the Animals, to do something good in Oz, to _matter_… It's all I've ever wanted."

"Then I'm happy for you," Fiyero smiled.

Elphaba felt her pulse speed up, thinking that no one had any right to have that wonderful of a smile, and mentally chastised herself. _He is smiling at you because you are friends, because your roommate is his girlfriend. He is merely happy for you. Don't read into this. Don't be a fool._

"Thank you. I know you don't understand most of my politics and views and the like, but I appreciate that you're supporting me in this… especially after what happened the other day…"

"That's… that's really what I wanted to talk to you about," he said, taking a cautious step into the room.

Elphaba's heart leapt to her throat. "W-What?"

"The other day…" he started, clearly trying to work out what he wanted to say. "It was…"

"Wrong!"

His eyes widened in surprise and she scrambled to cover.

"…of me, I know," she blurted, not wanting to give him a chance to speak, to allow herself to hear what he had to say. It would be too real, too much. "I shouldn't have let myself to get so mad in class because I know that sometimes things happen that are out of my control. And it was even more wrong of me to drag you into the whole mess and risk getting us both in trouble and I never should have…"

"Hey, hey, hey…" he stepped in closer to her, hands held up in a calming gesture. "You really don't let anyone get a word in edgewise, do you?"

_I can't let you_, she thought. _If you talk back, then I'll know that this is all real, that you're really talking to me and that what happened yesterday really happened and you're not afraid of me like you should be and that somehow I've managed not push you away because pushing you away is the last thing that I want to do and that scares me more than you could ever know and…_

"I just have a lot of things to say," she stated flatly.

"Care to share?"

She frowned. "Not especially. Sharing isn't something I'm good at. Just ask Galinda."

"She doesn't share well either," Fiyero pointed out. "But try me."

"I don't think so," Elphaba shook her head. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"How about with yesterday?" he pressed. "What happened? And why did it happen? And why were you so angry?"

"Is this a conversation or an interrogation?" she asked sharply. "If you want to know the truth, I don't know why it happened. It just did! And I was angry because that little 'demonstration' is exactly the sort of thing that I want to speak to the Wizard about!"

"You mean, the Animal Banns?" he asked, trying to follow.

"I mean _all_ the changes that are happening in Oz. Things are happening – bad things. What happened in class the other day was just one example of what Dr. Dillamond was trying to tell me before he was taken away. Things are changing…"

With a defeated sigh, she sank down onto her bed with a flop. There was a moment of silence then, and she lifted her eyes to Fiyero to judge his reaction. Perhaps she had said too much…? Maybe she'd lost him with her sudden shift from personal events to political climes.

"But those things aren't your fault," he said at last, following her bizarre topic change and coming to sit on the bed beside her. "None of them are related to you…"

"But they are!" she stressed, knowing he still didn't quite understand. How could she expect him to? No one did. "They're related to us all! Don't you see? _That's_ why I did what I did yesterday, took that cub, ran… Someone has to speak up for those who cannot."

"Okay, true. But those things are not _everything. _There's still _your _life and the things that you do have influence over. There's still Shiz. There's still your friends…"

She scoffed. "What friends?"

He looked a little hurt. "Galinda and me…"

"And can you honestly tell me that nothing's changing?" she asked, looking him right in the eye. "You're changing. You would have never been sitting here with me before. You'd have been off with Galinda, doing whatever it is you do when you're with her… "

His brow creased with slight annoyance even as he teased. "Now how do you know what I would or wouldn't have done? You had just met me a few weeks ago."

"Really?" she challenged, sarcasm creeping into her voice. "'Maybe he saw green and thought it meant go'?"

"Oh…" he looked down, chuckling awkwardly. "Elphaba… I didn't know you then. Forgive me for being my stupid self."

"Perhaps," she conceded, "but you barely know me now… And you should really stop calling yourself stupid. You're not."

"Excuse me?" now he looked at her pointedly.

"You're not stupid. You try and you try to hide behind that façade of carelessness, but I know that there's an articulate brain in there somewhere. It creeps out in arguments like this. You just don't want to put the effort in to actually try."

Fiyero opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out.

Elphaba grinned wickedly. "I'm right, aren't I?"

He just stared at her, shaking his head slightly. "How do you do it?"

She felt an uncomfortable heat rushing to her cheeks as she sat under the sudden weight of his unrelenting gaze. "…Do what?"

"See through me as if I were as transparent as glass. It just doesn't seem fair. You say I barely know you, yet you read me like a book. I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I suppose you're just not what you think you are."

"And neither are you," he said, laying his hand on hers.

She froze instantly. No one touched her. Not unless they were completing some stupid dare. Not unless they wanted to hurt her. She looked back up at him and saw his eyes, earnest and large and deeper blue than she remembered. They told her he didn't want to hurt her. He was voluntarily touching her and she didn't know why. It made her head spin.

She looked down at the sight of their hands, green and flesh toned, then back up to his face. _Oz, he is handsome_, she realized, feeling a fluttering in her stomach not unlike she had felt yesterday when she grabbed his hand, when she touched his cheek…

Elphaba felt her face relax into a smile. It felt good, right to be so close to him, with him not afraid of her, not afraid to be close to her, touching her. She felt almost… normal.

"I really, _really_ hope everything goes well for you in the City, Elphaba."

"Thank you," she whispered back, wondering why in Oz her voice sounded so hoarse and rough all of a sudden.

"What time does your train leave tomorrow?"

"Ten o'clock… Why?"

"Galinda mentioned something about seeing you off at the station. I thought I might tag along."

"Oh," she smiled. "That would be nice… But don't inconvenience yourself on my account."

"You could never be an inconvenience, Elphie."

Elphaba felt her breath catch. Oz, why was she acting like this? And why wasn't she mad when he called her by her nickname. She hated that nickname. But when he said it, it was… different. Pleasant. Intimate.

Fiyero stood up just then, and her eyes followed him as he crossed to the doorway. "I should probably get going… I told Galinda I'd meet her for dinner."

"Ah," Elphaba nodded, standing as well, folding her arms close over herself. _Of course, Galinda._"Good idea. You know how she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Would you like to join us?" he asked suddenly, as if on impulse.

Elphaba could see the sparkle in his eyes, prompting her to say yes, but she shook her head. "I have to finish packing. Besides, I'm sure she wants you all to herself."

"Yeah, probably…" He gave a knowing smile. "Well then… This was nice, huh?"

"Yes. Thank you… It was refreshing to have an actual conversation without me blowing something up or one of us running off."

He laughed. "We should do it again sometime… after you come back, I mean."

She gave a small nod. "I'd like that."

He smiled then, a real grin. "Me too. I'll be seeing you, Elphaba."

"See you," she replied, watching as he awkwardly waved before exiting into the hall. She bit her lip and fought an inexplicable urge to follow him, to call out and say something that would keep him by her side longer than he had to be.

Instead, she crept to the doorway, peering out around the doorframe to catch one last glimpse at his retreating form. She found herself face to face with him. She jumped and grabbed the doorframe in her surprise.

"I-I thought you'd left!" she gasped in a rush.

"I did, but then I thought better of it and hoped I could do this…" He brushed his lips against her cheek ever so softly, whispering in her ear, "Good luck, Elphaba."

With that, he turned and left, leaving her dazed and leaning against the doorframe. She lifted her hand to her cheek where the heat and feel of his lips still burned her cheek. She couldn't help the smile that overcame her as she stood there, watching him disappear around a corner.

A soft laugh escaped her and she bit her lip to hold it in. This would not do – not at all.

What exactly this all meant, she wasn't sure, but she had time. Like Fiyero said, they had time to talk about this all later, after all this business with the Wizard was sorted out. Her head would be clearer then, and he would have had time to think…

Fiyero thinking. She chuckled again, turning back to her packing. If she wasn't careful, she was going to have just as much affect on that boy as he had on her.

And only time would tell just how true that would come to be…

**A/N: As this is my first published fanfic, reviews are appreciated! Thanks!**


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